Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
DEFINITE CHANCE
Douglas to shine for Gord & Jack
REPRESENTING the in-form combination of Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy, Douglas DC might prove the answer in the Sheridan Electric 4-Y-0 Hurdle on the opening day of Ballinrobe’s two-day May meeting.
The Cullentra partnership struck twice at Punchestown yesterday, a brace which brought Kennedy’s win total for the new campaign to 12.
And Douglas DC, who opened his hurdling account at the fourth attempt in Tramore last month, might help him add to that tally.
Placed in his two bumpers and fourth in a flat maiden in Dundalk, Douglas DC has reached the frame in each of his three hurdle outings, failing narrowly to Via Verto on his jumping bow in Navan.
He then finished a creditable third to recent Killarney handicap hurdle winner Celestial Horizon in Naas before making it third-time-lucky over flights in Tramore, when readily brushing aside the challenge of quirky subsequent winner Igraine.
Douglas DC, a Zoffany gelding, is open to further improvement and gets the nod over Joseph O’brien’s Prairie Dancer, a winner in Cork, in addition to running creditably in the Boodles at Cheltenham and being placed in a Grade 3, but disappointingly beaten by Gaelic Arc in Clonmel last time.
The Willie Mullins-trained Gjoumi and Andrew Kinirons’ Hidden Land share top-weight for the featured Monroes John Monroe Memorial Mares Handicap Hurdle and both have obvious claims.
Having disappointed in previous runs, Gjoumi came good, by a wide margin, in Gowran Park and, last time, chased home Santa Rossa in Limerick.
And Hidden Land, now 14lb. higher than when scoring on her penultimate start in Downpatrick, made a lot of the running when third behind smart sorts Anna Bunina and Heia (won at Punchestown on Saturday) in a listed hurdle in Killarney less than two weeks ago.
But I’ll take a chance Eoin Mccarthy’s Blanketontheground, the mount of 7lb. claimer Gary Noonan, coming into the race on the back of a creditable fourth behind Celestial Horizon in a Grade B handicap in Killarney.
Elsewhere on the card, Spick And Span, runner-up on two recent visits to Ballinrobe, might have her turn in the opening Bank Of Ireland Maiden Hurdle.
The 102-rated, Walk In The Park mare has given best to Hollymount and Tom Mcgreevy in her recent outings and, with Simon Torrens again on board, gets a hopeful vote.
And Willie and Patrick Mullins might hold the key to the bumper in the shape of Aime Desjy, a son of No Risk At All, whose only previous outings was in a listed hurdle at Auteuil back in September 2019.